Ansible on MikroTik RouterOS 7 Automation Complete Guide

MikroTik RouterOS 7 is the modern release line for MikroTik routers and switches. It introduces a Linux-based kernel, WireGuard, IPv6-first BGP/OSPF, container support, and the REST API alongside the classic API. Ansible's community.routeros collection drives full automation: firewall rules, addresses, OSPF/BGP, WireGuard peers, CAPsMAN access points, and configuration backup.

RouterOS 7 release facts

| Item | Value | |---|---| | Major | 7.x (current 7.18) | | Programmability | API (8728/8729), REST API (HTTPS), Winbox, SSH | | New features | WireGuard, container, ROSE-STORAGE, IPv6 enhancements | | Default firewall | RouterOS firewall (filter, raw, mangle, NAT) |

See also: community.routeros 3.18.0 — New Feature for API Modify Module

Ansible-core compatibility

Use ansible-core 2.18 LTS with community.routeros >= 3.0.

Inventory

[mikrotik]
hap-ax3 ansible_host=192.168.88.1
ccr2004 ansible_host=10.0.0.1
[mikrotik:vars]
ansible_connection=community.routeros.api
ansible_user=admin
ansible_password='{{ vault_mikrotik_password }}'
ansible_routeros_api_port=8729
ansible_routeros_api_tls=true

See also: Automate Mikrotik RouterOS Config Backups with Ansible

Backup configuration

- name: Backup RouterOS configs
  hosts: mikrotik
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Export full config
      community.routeros.command:
        commands:
          - /export
- name: Fetch /export to control node
      community.routeros.command:
        commands:
          - "/system backup save name={{ inventory_hostname }}-{{ ansible_date_time.iso8601_basic_short }}"

Firewall rules

- name: Configure firewall on RouterOS
  hosts: mikrotik
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Allow established+related on input
      community.routeros.api_modify:
        path: "/ip firewall filter"
        data:
          - chain: input
            action: accept
            connection-state: "established,related"
- name: Allow ICMP
      community.routeros.api_modify:
        path: "/ip firewall filter"
        data:
          - chain: input
            action: accept
            protocol: icmp
- name: Drop everything else on input
      community.routeros.api_modify:
        path: "/ip firewall filter"
        data:
          - chain: input
            action: drop
            comment: "default drop"

See also: Ansible AWS: Complete Guide to Cloud Automation (2026)

WireGuard peer

- name: Configure WireGuard
  hosts: mikrotik
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Create wg0 interface
      community.routeros.api_modify:
        path: "/interface/wireguard"
        data:
          - name: wg0
            listen-port: 51820
            private-key: "{{ vault_wg_private_key }}"
- name: Add peer
      community.routeros.api_modify:
        path: "/interface/wireguard/peers"
        data:
          - interface: wg0
            public-key: "{{ peer_public_key }}"
            allowed-address: 10.99.0.2/32
            endpoint-address: peer.example.com
            endpoint-port: 51820
            persistent-keepalive: 25s

OSPFv3

- name: OSPFv3 instance
  hosts: mikrotik
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Instance
      community.routeros.api_modify:
        path: "/routing/ospf/instance"
        data:
          - name: default
            router-id: "{{ rid }}"
            version: 3
- name: Area
      community.routeros.api_modify:
        path: "/routing/ospf/area"
        data:
          - name: backbone
            area-id: 0.0.0.0
            instance: default

CAPsMAN access points

- name: Push CAPsMAN baseline
  hosts: mikrotik_controller
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Configuration profile
      community.routeros.api_modify:
        path: "/caps-man/configuration"
        data:
          - name: corp-wifi
            ssid: CorpWiFi
            datapath: corp-dp
            security: corp-sec

Best practices

• Use the API/REST API transport over SSH for structured, idempotent changes. • Keep community.routeros.api_modify calls scoped by find_filter to avoid duplicating rules. • Backup before every change; RouterOS does not have transactional commits. • Pin RouterOS firmware version with the community.routeros.system_routerboard upgrade flow.

Conclusion

RouterOS 7 + community.routeros brings MikroTik fleets into the Ansible-driven NetOps world. Use the API transport, idempotent api_modify, and rigorous backup discipline to manage large MikroTik deployments declaratively.

Connecting Ansible to MikroTik

# inventory.ini
[mikrotik]
router1 ansible_host=192.168.88.1
[mikrotik:vars]
ansible_connection=ansible.netcommon.network_cli
ansible_network_os=community.routeros.routeros
ansible_user=admin
ansible_password="{{ vault_mikrotik_password }}"

Common RouterOS Tasks

- name: Manage MikroTik RouterOS
  hosts: mikrotik
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Get system identity
      community.routeros.command:
        commands:
          - /system identity print
      register: identity
- name: Show identity
      ansible.builtin.debug:
        msg: "{{ identity.stdout_lines }}"
- name: Configure DNS
      community.routeros.command:
        commands:
          - /ip dns set servers=8.8.8.8,1.1.1.1
- name: Add firewall rule
      community.routeros.command:
        commands:
          - /ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=22 action=accept comment="Allow SSH"
- name: Create backup
      community.routeros.command:
        commands:
          - /system backup save name=ansible-backup

RouterOS API Module

    - name: Configure via API
      community.routeros.api:
        hostname: "{{ ansible_host }}"
        username: "{{ ansible_user }}"
        password: "{{ ansible_password }}"
        path: ip address
        add:
          address: "10.0.0.1/24"
          interface: ether2

FAQ

Which Ansible collection do I need for MikroTik?

Install community.routeros: ansible-galaxy collection install community.routeros. It supports both SSH CLI and RouterOS API connections.

Does Ansible support RouterOS 7 specifically?

Yes. The community.routeros collection supports both RouterOS 6 and 7. Some command syntax differs between versions — always test on your target version.

Can I back up and restore MikroTik configurations with Ansible?

Yes. Use /system backup save for binary backups and /export for text-based configuration exports. Store exports in version control for configuration-as-code.